C y a b n a B ve a l r T TM
LONDON
A TRAVEL GUIDE MADE FOR PARENTS By Celine and Dan Brewer 1
OTHER BABY CAN TRAVEL EBOOKS Baby Can Travel: Paris
Baby Can Travel: Barcelona
Baby Can Travel: New York City
Baby Can Travel: Anywhere
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PLANNING YOUR TRIP 7
LONDON IS A GREAT CHOICE One of the great things about travelling with an infant is that you can pick the destination based on what you want to see and do. Your baby will not have an opinion about seeing Buckingham Palace vs. the Eiffel Tower they just want to be with you! That said, there are still important things to consider for your infant when picking your destination:
þ The weather in spring and fall is warm, but not too hot. þ It has a great public transportation system. þ It is a very walkable, stroller friendly city. þ It is baby and breastfeeding friendly. þ There are enough world-class attractions to fill a week or two of your time.
þ Is it safe? One potential downside to consider is that petty theft þ Does it have access to good health care? can be troublesome (pickpockets, etc.). þ Is the weather appropriate for your baby's health (e.g., not too hot or too cold to be outside)? þ Does it have good transportation options? þ Is it a walkable city? Can you push a stroller on most of the city streets? þ If your baby is breastfed, does the local culture accept breastfeeding? Fortunately, London is a great destination for travelling with a baby! þ It is a safe city. þ They have a good first world health care system. Be aware of your coverage or lack thereof before you leave home. 8
PREDICTING YOUR BABY'S NEEDS The first step in planning your trip is to think about the change from the time you book your trip. Will they be needs of all the travellers, including both the baby and eating solid food? How long will they nap each day? the parents. Having a solid idea of each of your needs Will they be crawling? will help you make thoughtful decisions about your trip. The table below provides guidance on what your child It is fascinating to watch infants grow as their skills and may be like at the age of travel. Every baby develops at personalities change so rapidly. For these reasons, you their own pace, so treat these as guidelines only. need to spend a bit of time anticipating what your child will be like on the date you travel, as they will certainly
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By considering what your child may be like at the proposed time of your trip, you can plan accordingly. The key elements to consider are sleeping and feeding:
When planning your trip, factor this time into your sightseeing aspirations. How will you feed them? What will you feed them? Where will you feed them? And how long will this all take?
Amount & Location of Sleep Your baby's need for sleep will be one of the biggest factors in how much time you will have sightseeing at your destination. Very young babies tend to have the most naps, but are generally able to fall asleep anywhere and anytime. As they become older, they become more aware of the world around them and may have more difficulty falling asleep on-the-go, especially if your destination is very stimulating. As they get even older, their need for multiple naps dwindles and becomes less of a factor in your daily planning. Feeding Method Very young babies are easy to travel with as you can feed them on-the-go either by breastfeeding or by bottle. As your child transitions to solid food, feeding them takes up more of your day. The months after they start eating solids are especially slow going as they are just learning to eat - they play with their food, eat half, rub the other half in their hair, clothes, the carpet, etc. As they get more skilled at eating, the time it takes generally decreases and will become less of a factor in your daily planning.
TIP
Generically speaking, the most challenging age to travel with an infant is between 6-11 months. They typically need two naps per day and may have difficulty sleeping on-the-go due to the exciting world around them. Their newfound appreciation for, but lack of skills to eat solid food may also slow you down.
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HOW DOES LONDON FIT INTO THIS? London is a world-class tourist destination. When planning to take your infant there, you need to factor in two main things: â–ş It is very easy to get around London, but it is big and takes time to get places. For example, it will take approximately one hour to walk from Westminster Abbey to the Tower of London. The same trip will take you approximately twenty minutes by subway or fifteen minutes by taxi. â–ş London is one of the most exciting cities in the world and as a result can be very stimulating for your baby. If your baby is just starting to become aware of the world around them, taking them from their familiar home to London puts you at risk of overstimulating them. Despite some of the potential challenges you may face, you can take a baby of any age to London and have a wonderful time. Just start with a clear set of expectations to avoid being frustrated during your trip.
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OUR EXPERIENCE Our daughter was 13 months old when we brought her to London. At this time, she was sleeping around eleven hours per night and was taking two naps per day (around three hours total in duration). She was mostly eating solid food, but was still quite slow. We started our trip with the assumption that she would have her first nap of the day while we were on-thego and then we'd go back to the apartment early afternoon for her second nap of the day. It took us a few days to catch on that she was not sleeping easily or very well for her first nap of the day. London is very interesting for a baby her age. She was also taking 30-45 minutes to properly eat solid food. The combination of needing to be in the apartment for her naps, plus the time to feed her solid food required some changes to our plans: 1. We stopped going out to attractions first thing in the morning. We would feed her and let her play a little (preferably at an outdoor playground) before putting her down for nap #1. 2. We typically had 3-4 hours of sightseeing time after her first nap. Our stroller had a food tray so we would feed her while we were on the move or while we were eating lunch. 3. We would go out for another two hours after her afternoon nap. This gave us time to have her home, feed her and let her play a little before bed. We had a great time in London with our daughter. We learned from the mistakes we had made in New York City four months prior and had a much more enjoyable time. We made sure she had time to play every day which is not only important for her development, but it also tired her out, which helped her sleep better. We made good use of our time walking to attractions by feeding her in her stroller. As you'll see, we still made plenty of mistakes, but we continually monitored how she was doing and adjusted our approach as required, making sure her needs were met first. 12
LONDON ATTRACTIONS OUR ITINERARY
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BRITISH MUSEUM
© Andrew Dunn
“London's most popular attraction…”
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London's most popular attraction, this huge museum houses world class exhibits on Egypt, Greece, the Middle East, the Far East and more.
EASE OF GETTING THERE Walking The British Museum is in the West End and it will take approximately 15 minutes to walk from Trafalgar Square. Subway There are four subway stops near the British Museum: ► Tottenham Court Rd: on the Central and Northern lines. It will take approximately 5 minutes to walk from here. ► Holborn: on the Central and Piccadilly lines. It will take approximately 6 minutes to walk from here. ► Russell Square: on the Piccadilly line. It will take approximately 7 minutes to walk from here. ► Goodge Street: on the Northern line. It will take approximately 8 minutes to walk from here. Ho Ho The Original Tour Blue line. 102
STROLLER ACCESSIBILITY The main entrance to the British Museum is at the top of a flight of stairs, but there is a small elevator to the left which enables people with strollers to get to the main level. Once inside the museum, you may find some walkways are tight, but you can explore all areas of the museum. Small elevators enable you to reach all the floors.
EATING NEARBY
OTHER INFORMATION
There are two cafés and a restaurant within the museum. If these options are not to your liking, there are plenty of options in the blocks surrounding the museum, especially to the south.
Official Website
PLACES TO BREASTFEED Every room within the museum has at least a single bench - many rooms have multiple. Some rooms are busier than others, so find a nice spot with an interesting view to feed your baby. There are also two feeding rooms within the museum: the first is adjacent to the baby changing space on the east side of the Great Court and the other is in the Ford Centre for Young Visitors (available to families during weekends and school holidays only). If you prefer to be outside, there are two nice parks which border the museum: the Bedford Square Garden is to the west and the Malet Street Gardens is to the north.
INTERESTING FOR INFANT Museums are a good place to take your baby for a nap as there typically isn't anything of interest for them. This museum is more focused on artifacts than art, so there is a chance your baby may find some of it interesting to look at. That said, our daughter slept through most of our visit to this museum. 103
Time & Money Savers Admission to the British Museum is free, but they encourage all visitors to make a £5 donation. Nearby Attractions Bedford Square and Russell Square.
TIPS
► Baby changing facilities are in the Great Court, the Ford Centre for Young Visitors, the North stairs (level 0) and the North stairs (level 3). ► For babies who are on solid food, the Gallery Café offers one free child's meal when you buy an adult main meal. 104
OUR EXPERIENCE We landed in London at 7:00AM after our overnight flight. We didn't have access to our apartment rental until 2:00PM and the forecast was calling for rain, so we decided to play it safe with an indoor activity from our "must do" list - the British Museum. We visited the museum with our daughter in a stroller and had no issues getting around, although sometimes you have to wait a while for the elevator to have enough room in it for you and your stroller. We loved the amazing displays (especially the one on Egypt), but our daughter was more interested in catching up on her sleep - she slept nearly the entire visit. The good thing about this museum is that it is quiet enough, even when it's busy, for babies to easily fall asleep.
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